Olympic gold medalist swimmer Katie Ledecky came back to her alma mater, Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, on Thursday.
The most decorated female Olympian in U.S. history met with excited students as local leaders unveiled a road marker for “Katie Ledecky Lane” outside the school and proclaimed it “Katie Ledecky Day” in the county.
“Just having her in person and seeing her get a day named after her is just really surreal,” said Harper Rushton, a sophomore at Stone Ridge School.
“It’s pretty special. We don’t do this everyday,” said County Executive Marc Elrich. “But she’s a remarkable athlete — but she’s also taken on kind of a role model role, in general.”
“I was once that young girl that looked up to the big-time swimmers, and Olympians, and leaders in their communities,” Ledecky said. “So I know that it’s meaningful that I have an opportunity to do that for the next generation coming up through school and through the sport. And I hope that the young kids out there will work hard and pursue their goals in whatever it is they’re passionate about.”
